Farmstead of Thomas Francis & Mary (Walsh) McGrath located in the SW 1/14 of section 30 Mercer Township, Adams County, Iowa. This area was known as the Irish neighborhood.

On March 10 1896 Thomas & Mary, just married in January, loaded their possessions in a railcar in Wenona, Illinois & shipped to Iowa to set up housekeeping & farming here.
They raised 4 children in this house: Margaret Marie (born 1898), James Raymond (1900), Agnes Veronica (1903) & Thomas Fabian (1905).

A 1905 newspaper article notes Thos had in 50 acres of corn, 30 of oats, 14 of barley & 40 tons of hay. He also had 18 head of cattle, 50 head of Berkshire hogs & 9 horses. They milked 9 cows, separating & selling the cream & had recently sold 7 spring calves (at 460 lbs each). Mary had 300 chickens (she said they were a fine lot), 24 geese & a few ducks. The article said it was a pretty little home on a good piece of land. A 1915 article notes they had a good home & had prospered.

Thomas Francis died 8 Dec 1925 & on 22 Dec 1925 his widow Mary held a closing out--public sale of the farm & equipment, tho she & Veronica continued to live in the house thru abt 1940.

Originally the farm was purchased in Oct 1892 by Thos' father Patrick McGrath of LaSalle County, Illinois from Thos C Wilson (also originally from near Wenona) for future use by his son. As the oldest son, Thomas came of age before his father was ready to retire from the family farm in Illinois, so to farm, Thos had to move. In 1917 after Patk's death Thos bought out his siblings' interests in the farm to settle the estate.